End of a Journey
by fading ink
Summary: I'm warning you again, Sarutobi," Hanabi almost growled, crossing her arms and frowning disapprovingly, "I'm not allowing you to crash at my place once you come back a penniless tramp." Pairing: KonoHana. AU.


**Author's Notes: **This is just a short oneshot I did for a request on lj by the awesome SaiSaku writer **nymbis**. She wanted a HanabixKonohamaru from me, (specifically requested as lovers or friends) so here it is!

**Warning: **Unbeta'd

**Words: **2,519

**Pairing: **KonoHana... or HanaKono - whichever suits you. XD

**Genre:** Friendship/_slight_ Romance

**Summary:** "I've tried - constantly, might I add - for _three whole weeks _to drill into that minuscule brain of yours that selling your apartment off for a fare to Suna wasn't a good idea." She shook him some more, this time more violently, and Konohamaru clasped her wrists just in case she got tired of shaking him and lunged for his throat instead.

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**End of a Journey**

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"You do realize that nothing good will come out of this?"

Hanabi gritted her teeth in irritation _(frustration, anger, helplessness) _as her best (and only) friend of fourteen years wrestled ridiculously on the ground with the humongous suitcase which had conveniently spilled open in the middle of the harbour, all but (intentionally) ignoring her words. She fought the urge to clutch at the roots of her hair in frustration and humiliate herself in public by stomping around. Oh what Neji-niisan would think if he saw her like this... Darn it, these urges to act so irrationally had been getting increasingly frequent by the day. Unfortunately, by the time that she had realized that hanging out with Sarutobi was detrimental to her mental health, it was already too late...

"Sarutobi," She still couldn't get rid of that habit of calling him by his surname, "Be rational." She told him in that business-like voice her father often used. "Just because your grandpa and uncle made their fortune in the west - by what miraculous stroke of luck, only god knows-" she muttered disbelievingly under her breath, "-does _not_ mean you're going to as well!"

She might as well have been talking to a dead fish. Konohamaru didn't give her any indication that he had heard her at all, instead opting to force all his belongings inside the stubborn suitcase. He sighed, relieved, and grinned stupidly at his work, before closing it with a satisfying 'click'. The leather suitcase still looked ready to combust spontaneously at any moment though - apparently, he planned to take everything with him to Suna City.

For three _freakin'_ weeks - darn it, she was cursing again, and it was all _his_ fault - she had tried to make him see some semblance of sense but she should have realized in their fourteen years of _sortofkindofsomethingmore_ friendship that his mind was programmed specifically to reject logical reasoning. She still tried, though.

"I'm warning you again, Sarutobi," Hanabi almost growled, crossing her arms and frowning disapprovingly, "I'm not allowing you to crash at my place once you come back a penniless tramp."

Konohamaru, finally having overcome his 'battle' with his suitcase, sat back on top of the black, leather surface and smiled impishly up at his best friend. Hanabi bristled. Did he know what he was _doing_? Would it kill him to express even a little bit of uncertainty, or sadness, _anything_, about leaving Konoha? But no, the naive fool only had a determined certainty written on his features - Hanabi promptly decided that Naruto, despite how Neji-niisan held him in high regard, was a bad influence on him.

"Huh?" He blinked in that stupid (_endearing,_ her traitorous mind supplied) manner of his and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Ah... what were you saying again?"

He smiled that stupid, stupid (she seemed associate the word with him a lot nowadays) smile, showing off his stupid, stupid teeth, which seemed specifically designed to flash off all that stupid, stupid, dazzling brightness.

And something inside her snapped. It seemed that logical reasoning was beyond the mental capacity of the idiot, so she was going to have to use brute strength.

She bent down and hauled him up harshly by his collar, and noted with morbid satisfaction characteristic of most of her family members, that his smile had slid right off his face, replaced by confusion, and the small tendrils of well-hidden fear.

"You haven't been listening to a _single _word I've said, have you?" she hissed, and Konohamaru had to wonder whether she had picked up that menacing tone from her cousin Neji - he had always had the impression that the guy had the attitude of a cold-blooded killer. That aside, she looked downright furious, as furious as he had ever seen her in their fourteen years of friendship. Normally, he would have fought right back and they would have started a verbal fight right in the middle of the harbour, but the circumstances were anything but normal. Konohamaru simply blinked, if only to incense her wrath even more.

"I hope you realize," she shook him violently by the collar, Konohamaru actually thought his neck would fall off any minute now, and bounce off onto the tiled platform like those basketballs she was so good at handling. "that I abandoned my game today to come here and knock some sense into your thick skull, Sarutobi! This is the _stupidest _idea you've ever had since the prank you pulled on Ebisu-sensei in eighth grade!" she yelled for the first time in a long while - he was leaving her, damn it! Leaving her for a half-assed dream of 'making it big' in Suna like old man Sarutobi and his Uncle Asuma. Not every one was that lucky! Why couldn't he understand that?

"I've tried - constantly, might I add - for _three whole weeks _to drill into that minuscule brain of yours that selling your apartment off for a fare to Suna wasn't a good idea." She shook him some more, this time more violently, and Konohamaru clasped her wrists just in case she got tired of shaking him and lunged for his throat instead. "But _no_, do you listen? You just go off and cheerfully hand in your resignation letter to Kakashi and now you're boarding a cruise ship to Suna to, as you so naively put it, 'make it big'." She heaved heavily at this point in her rant. It wasn't like her to curse and blow up like that, but then again, Sarutobi always brought out the worst in her. She released his collar with a rough shove, and adjusted her sports bag over her vest before turning around, her back to him.

"Fine," she spat angrily, "Go off on your own and throw your life away, you fool. Become a worhtless beggar. See if I care." She muttered harshly and with one last glare, she started to walk away.

The situation was so funny - ironic even. Now _she_was being emotional, while he remained quiet. She realized, with a certain pang in her chest, that Konohamaru hadn't spoken at all. He hadn't uttered a single word, _anything_that might indicate that leaving Konoha (her) was hard for him, neither had he protested to her rough treatment like he usually did. The thought made her irrationally angry - angry at herself for abandoning her game - she knew her team was probably losing without her; angry at herself for losing her cool and blowing up at him like that, but mostly angry at him for just standing there like some motionless statue and not saying anything - that was supposed to be _her_ role, dammit!; angry at him for not stopping her or calling her back as she - rather furiously, gracelessly - stomped off; angry--

A hand on her elbow stopped her, and she tried to snatch it back but the insistent grip only tightened.

"Oi, Hyuuga." he called softly - it was strange for him to be anything but loud, and stranger still that they were more accustomed to calling each other by their surnames despite being friends for over a decade.

Hanabi pressed her lips together and stilled - she would _not_ give him the satisfaction of turning around so that he could see the turmoil reflected on her usually impassive face. She had her pride!

"Hanabi."

Her breath hitched at his voice. Ah, screw the Hyuuga pride. She inclined her head over her shoulder, and stared back at him with the most aloof, impassive, indifferent look she could muster. "What?"

Contrary to what she had thought, he didn't look angry at all, not did he look ready to start an argument with her. Instead, he smiled that broad and overwhelming smile, laughed heartily and said, "You worry too much!"

Now _there_was the fun, spirited Konohamaru she knew. Her lips threatened to twich into a smile, but she suppressed the urge with a well-practised frown, and scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Sarutobi. Why would I be worried about _you_?" she asked blandly.

Konohamaru grinned. "Oh yeah? Who exactly was yelling her head off at me just a minute ago? I can't seem to remember... " Konohamaru made a unconvincing show of trying to remember, dumbly scratching the back of his head and pouting...

_He looks cute like that_.

The thought ran through her head like a speeding bullet, before she had time to ponder it. It flitted away so fast that she never even knew it was there. Regardless, faint heat crept up her cheeks, and she instinctively looked away, letting a few loose bangs curtain her face. "Whatever, Sarutobi."

She _knew_ the idiot was smiling smugly right now. She could practically _feel_it. A short silence befell them and Hanabi wondered if this is where their roads would part forever. She always knew, and acknowledged in some obscure part of her mind that this - _this whatever was between them _- couldn't last forever, and it would be stupid to think otherwise. Sooner or later, like their high school life, their university life would come to an end as well, but she had always thought it would be at least four more years away. And she had never expected this to happen so soon - it was still four years too early.

"You're not going to change your mind, are you?" She asked, and this time, there was no selfish anger present in her voice. Only a resigned quality - exasperation - remained.

"Nope!"

He said the word so cheerfully, so carelessly, and she contemplated viciously shaking him again and asking him if leaving this place (her) meant anything to him. There was only a spark of anger before it melted into a resolute determination.

She steeled herself and turned around. If this was going to be the last time they'd see each other, then she wanted to do it right. Extending a hand towards him, she donned her most serious expression and and said in the most formal voice she could muster, "It was an honour meeting you, Sarutobi, despite how excessively annoying you've become as of late with your naive plans. I wish you luck on your journey."

She hoped that that would do justice to their fourteen long years. It had been a hectic journey, their friendship, but this wasn't the end - it was a beginning of a new phase of life for both of them.

Konohamaru blinked as she looked from her hand to her face and then promptly burst out into raucous laughter.

Hanabi's mouth fell open in a rather undignified manner - oh, her father would be ashamed. She had just offered the most heartfelt goodbye to him - them and their fourteen years of friendship - and he just laughed at her! Face flaming slightly, she stoically asked with a hint of indignation, "What's so fun--"

She was cut off when Konohamaru took her still outstretched hand and pulled her into a crushing embrace. Her back stiffened and she froze. When was the last time anyone had hugged her like this? She couldn't remember. It was getting hard to breathe now as air squeezed out of her lungs, and she briefly contemplated pushing him away and reprimanding him for invading her personal space but... His slightly spicy smell and the warmth that seeped through his clothes and enveloped her was comforting. Familiar. And slowly, hesitantly, she curled her finger around the fabric of his shirt and clutched desperately, as if to hold onto the heat radiating from him. She had the feeling that this would be the last time he would hug her like this for a long time...

They were just two people in the middle of a bustling harbour. Just two insignificant people in a world of so many. But they were two people who had something between them that was rare.

"All this time," Konohamaru laughed and she realized that he was trembling so slightly that it was almost imperceptible. "And you still haven't changed, Hyuuga. Everything's gonna be _fine_." he told her optimistically, even though his trembling gave away how scared he was. "And I'll call you as soon as I get there and tell you all about the big city! I've heard that there are all these _really_tall domes and ancient architectures over there," Hanabi bit her lip and her heart broke at his naivety. "Trust me, it's gonna be a whole lotta fun! And besides, Naruto-niisan's there too," Hanabi remembered that Naruto, their senior all through high school and university, was there to meet a friend - Gaara, she recalled. "and if I _do_become a penniless tramp like you think I will, I'll just crash at his place! But--" he paused for a moment, and then with much conviction, said, "But I won't! The old man and Uncle Asuma didn't, so I won't either!"

She didn't know what to say to that, to him - the fool that he was - so she said nothing and savoured this last moment with him for all it was worth. The announcement of the ship's arrival - it was called _Konoha Cruiser_ - blared through the port and waiting passengers quickly hurried along towards the direction of Port 2B with their luggage in tow.

And when he released her from his crushing embrace, she stood back soberly while he gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. "This is it, Hyuuga. I know you're gonna miss me."

Hanabi huffed even as his words rang true in her mind. "You wish."

Something unreadable flashed in his eyes - _tenderness?_ - and before she could confirm it, it vanished, and he grinned at her and took hold of his suitcase. "See ya!"

She hoped - rather childishly, she'd think later - that he'd at least look back at her one more time, just to let her know that this was hard for him too. But he didn't, instead opting to raise a hand in goodbye. And perhaps she was a masochist, as he had blatantly insinuated so many times in the past, because she kept looking longingly after his back long after he had disappeared into the mass of people.

She turned around and blinked rapidly. The port was bustling, merchants were bargaining with their customers, elegant ladies from rich families gossiped excitedly, and children ran by, leaving carefree laughter in their wake. She was surrounded by people, but Hanabi had never felt so alone.

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**Ending Notes: **I really don't know how well I kept them in character, considering that a. This is my first attempt ever at this pairing b. I've never seen Hanabi in the manga due to unfortunate circumstances and c. I have seen Konohamaru in only about 5-6 episodes... ever and finally d. I have _no_idea about the latest manga, so I don't know if their personalities have changed or not. *sigh* So given that I know virtually nothing about those two, I proceeded to read some HanaKono fanfics and to my disappointment, I really didn't find anything notable. But I still hope you guys bore through my horrible English! I'd love to know your opinions.

For those who are waiting for FAF, I will post chapter seven next week. And I won't apologize for the delay because my real life circumstances were way beyond my control. So keep tuning in! And please, tell me your thoughts on this oneshot! ^.^


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